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Fargo board moves in-person appeals to pending status after residents and landlords challenge assessments
Summary
After more than a dozen public appeals from homeowners, landlords and property managers, the Fargo Board of Equalization voted unanimously to move the in-person appeals to pending status for inspection and review and approved the remainder of the assessment roll; reconvene set for May 12.
The City of Fargo Board of Equalization heard a steady stream of in-person and online appeals from homeowners, commercial owners and property managers who challenged 2026 assessed values before voting to move the in-person appeals to pending status and to approve the remainder of the assessment roll.
Why it matters: the board’s procedural vote preserved the right of individual property owners and organizations to receive an appraisal review while allowing the bulk of the assessments to take effect. The board recorded unanimous 'aye' responses from the commissioners present during roll call.
Public appeals and arguments Many residents described sudden, large increases in their net assessed values and asked for on-site reviews. Doreen Swenson of 4765 32nd St. S. said her assessed value rose substantially; her realtor, Jody Schmitz, presented recent sales she said were more comparable to Swenson’s house. "If she came to me and said I wanna sell my house, I would never list it $7.10," Schmitz said, urging careful comparables review.
Commercial and institutional appellants pressed different points. Jennifer Carruth of Property Tax Resources, speaking for Net REIT Fargo, appealed the 2026 assessment for 300 Northern Pacific (a 34,000-sq.-ft. office building), arguing the downtown office market’s weak income and occupancy data make the income approach more appropriate than a sales-comparison mass appraisal. "The income approach is really the most appropriate and credible method because it directly measures what drives the value," Carruth said, citing declining NOI and occupancy at the subject property.
Gabriel Ehlers, representing Enclave Property Management, asked the board to reconsider assessments on two newly built multifamily properties, saying in-place vacancy and absorption dynamics do not yet support full, stabilized per-unit assessments (he cited assessments in the range of roughly $157,000–$165,000 per unit compared with market comparables of $115,000–$140,000 per unit).
Board action and votes After hearing public comment, the board approved a motion to move all appeals presented in person into pending status for further inspection and review; that motion passed on a roll-call vote with the commissioners responding "Aye" when their names were called (Kolpak, Pepcorn, Tranberg, Strand, Mahoney). The board then approved a second motion to accept all other valuations on the assessment roll that were not placed into pending status, again by roll-call vote with unanimous approval.
Next steps The assessor’s office will send appraisers to inspect appealed properties as appropriate and will return recommendations when the board reconvenes; the chair set a reconvening date of May 12 at 7:30 a.m. for completion of pending appeals. No final valuation changes for the appealed properties were adopted at today’s session.
